Tape guiding means for sewing machines



TAPE GUIDING MEANS FOR SEWING MACHINES Filed Feb. 11, 1954 A q v -5 INVENTOR. w'v Orland 8. Reid WITNESS Fi 2 BY WJQWW ATTRNE Y United States Patent TAPE GUIDING MEANS FOR SEWING MACHINES Orland B. Reid, Kenilworth, N. J., assignor to The Singer Manufacturing Company, Elizabeth, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application February 11, 1954, Serial No. 409,604

4 Claims. (Cl. 112152) The present invention relates to sewing machines and has for a primary object to provide a new and improved tape guiding means therefor. More specifically, it is an ob ect to provide an improved tape guide for sewing machines which is adapted for use with a tape having folded edges and in which the closely ad acent the fold-edges.

With the above and other objects in view, as will hereinafter appear, the invention comprises the devices, combinations and arrangements of parts hereinafter set forth and illustrated in the accompanying drawings of a preferred embodiment of the invention, from which the several features of the invention and the advantages attained thereby, will be readily understood by those skilled in the art.

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary end elevation view, partly in section, of a sewing machine with a tape guide constructed in accordance with the present invention mounted thereon.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary top plan view of the bed of the sewing machine of Fig. 1 showing the tape guiding means.

Fig. 3 is a section view taken substantially on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2. a

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the separator means per se for the tape guiding groove in the throat-plate of the machine illustrated in Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a section view of a machine of Fig. l.

The sewing machine as illustrated in Fig. 1 includes a bed-plate 1 which at the point of stitch-formation is provided with the usual throat-plate 2 secured to the bed-plate by screws 3 and having needle-apertures 4 and feed-dog slots 5 therein. A pair of vertically reciprocatory needles 6 are adapted to extend through the seam produced by the needle-apertures 4 and to cooperate in the conventional manner with loopers 7 beneath the bed-plate in the formation of two seams of two-thread chain-stitches. The presser mechanism of the machine includes a presserfoot 8 against which feed-dogs 9 act, the feed-dogs 9 forming a part of any suitable feeding mechanism, preferably of the lower four-motion type.

The present machine is fitted to sew a seam as illustrated in Fig. 5, which seam consists of a work-piece W .with a hemmed edge H backed by a reinforcing tape T having the edges thereof folded inwardly to provide fold-edges F. The work-piece and tape are sewed together by two lines of stitches S, one closely adjacent each of the fold-edges F of the tape T; the first line of stitches S also being closely adjacent the hemmed edge H of the work-piece W and the second line of stitches S being inwardly thereof. In the finished seam the raw edge of the work-piece W and the raw edges of the tape T are enclosed between the .work-piece and. tape and between the two lines of stitches.

The fittings for producing this scam consist of a folder ltlfor underfolding the raw edge of the work-piece W, and 'a folder llfor infolding the edges of the tape T. The folder 10 may be of any suitable construction and is supported by a bracket 12 which is secured to the bed-plate 1 for adjustment transversely of the line of feed. The folder 11 may also be of any suitable construction and is adjustably secured to the bed-plate 1 by a screw 13. It should also be noted that the presser-foot 8 is provided with a flange 14 extending forwardly in the line of feed from the outer edge thereof stitching is to be placed Patented Jan. 18, 1955 in making seams such as illustrated in Fig. 5 in which the tape '1 is small, in the order or three-rourths of an inch and with the edges folded inwardly, in the order of three-eighths of an 1I1Ch, and in which the stitching is close to the edge, e. g., one-sixteenth of an inch rrorn the fold-edges, the control of the work is very critical. liven slight variations can cause the needle to miss the fold-edges of the tape, which results in a detective seam, and in high speed sewing machines such varlations can be caused by numerous tactors. it is, therefore, essential that maximum control of the work right up to the point of stitch formation be secured. Moving the discharge ends of the folders as closely as possible to the point of stitch tormation is, of course, desirable, but this expedient is limited because of space requirements and cannot eliminate the noted detect. Accordingly, the present invention has been designed to provide means for positively controlling thetape to a point immediately in front of the needle and thus insuring that the tape will be properly folded and in proper position when presented to the needles, thus substantially eliminating all possibility of the needle missing the fold-edge of the tape.

in accordance with the present invention there has been provided a channel 15 in the upper surface of the throat-plate 2 and extending from the forward end thereof to a point immediately in front of the leading needleaperture 4. The discharge end of the folder 11 is seated in this channel 15 which, as will be seen in Fig. 2, has sidewalls 16 that converge from the forward end of the throat-plate 2 to a point slightly in front of the discharge end of the folder 11. At this point the width of the channel or the distance between the side-walls is substantially equal to the desired width of the folded tape T as it is to be presented to the stitching mechanism, and from this point to the end thereof adjacent the needle-apertures 4, the side-Walls 16 of the channel 15 are substantially parallel. The channel 15 also includes a bottom wall 17 which is flat from the forward end of the throat-plate inwardly to a point immediately in front of the needle-apertures 4 where it is turned upwardly on a smooth curve 18, as seen in Fig. l.

Spanning the channel 15 at that portion where the side-walls 16 are parallel, is a bridge-piece or plate 19 which is secured to the throat-plate 2 by screws 20. Depending from the bridge-piece 19 is a tin 21 arranged normal thereto and aligned with the line of feed. At its lower end the fin 21 carries a separator-blade 22 which is arranged in the line of feed and. normal to the fin 21 or parallel to the bottom wall 17 of the channel and to the bridge-piece 19. The fin 21 is short so that the separator-blade 22 will lie substantially half-way between the bridge-piece 19 and the bottom wall 17 of the channel 15. The separator-blade is positioned centrally transversely of the channel 15 and the width thereof is less than the width of the channel 15 by a distance that will permit free passage of one thickness of the tape T between either side of the separator-blade and the adjacent side-wall 16. The forward portion of the separator-blade which initially receives the tape T from the folder 11 is turned upwardly, as seen in Fig. 1, to facilitate passage of the tape T into the slots between the blade and the walls of the channel. The forward or discharge end 23 of the separatorblade 22 is also turned upwardly and about substantially the same radius as the curve 18 in the bottom wall of the channel 15, whereby the spacing between the separator blade 22 and the bottom Wall 17 of the channel 15 remains substantially constant. The end 23 of the blade 22 is flared or divergent, whereby the fold-edges F of the tape T are forced outwardly to exactly the desired position immediately in front of the point of stitch formation. In view of the very close spacing between the discharge end of the blade 22 which, together with the walls of channel 15 and the bridge-piece 19, comprise a guide for the tape, there is virtually no possibility that the tape will tend to collapse and thus be missed by the needle, even under the most unusual circumstances.

In operation, the tape T is initially received by the folder 11 which infolds "the edges thereof. 'From the folder 11, the tape passes: into the slot between the separator-blade 22 and the bottom wall 17 of the channel 1-5, with the foldtedgesthereof lying between the side edges of the blade 22 and the side walls of the channel 15, and with the infolded edge portions of the tape lying between the separator-blade 22. and the bridgepiece 19; The iin 21 act-s to keepathe edges of the tape separated. At the discharge end of the channel 15, the flaredend 23 :of the blade 22 will :t'orce the fold-- edges 'F of the tape T tothe desired spacing and in the proper position relative to the needles at a point immediately in front of the needles. At the same time, the tape folding-and :gu-iding means, which adjacent the point of stitch 'r'ormation is below the level of the upper surface of the throat-plate 2, 'will permit placing the discharge end of the folder i for the work-piece W at -a point of stitch formation.

Having thus described the nature of the invention, what I claim herein is:

.l. A sewing' machine throat-plate having elongated feed-dog slots thereima pair of spaced needle apertures arranged transversely of the feed-dog slots and tape guiding meansflcomprising a channel formed in said throat-plate and having a bottom wall and side walls, said side walls of the channel having a parallel portion, the parallel portion being arranged parallel to the feeddog slots and comprising the discharge end of said channel, said parallel portion being of a width slightly greater than the distance between said needle apertures and said side walls of the channel within the parallel portion bcing spaced outwardly 0f the respective needleaperture transversely of said feed-dogslots, a bridgepiece spanning the parallel portion of said channel, a

fin depending from saidbridge-piece, said fin beingpa-rallel. with .the parallel portion of said channel, and .a separator-blade carried by said fin and being arranged in spaced parallel relation with said bridge-piece and thei bottom and side walls of said channel, the end of said separatorabladeadjacent the discharge end of said channel having diverging side-edges which diverge to a distance substantially equal to the width of said .pa-rallel portion .of said channel.

2. 1n arsewing machine having a bed-plate, stitching 'mechanism defining .a point of stitch formation, feeding mechanism for feeding work past the point of'stitch formation along a line of feed, a throat-plate carried by said bed-plate at the point of stitch formation, and worksfolding and guiding means comprising a folder for hemming the edge :ofa work-piece and presenting the hemmed .edgeto the stitching mechanism, a tape folder for infolding the edgesof a tape, and a tape guiding means forifeceiving this tape from the tape folder and presenting the same .to the stitching mechanism, said tapeaguiding means controlling the passage -of the tape from the "tape folder to the point of stitch formation and releasing the tape immediately in front of the same, said tape guiding means comprising a channel formed in the throat plate .and having a bottom 'wall and side walls, said side walls of :the channel having a parallel portion, the parallel portion :being'in the line of feed and comprising the discharge :end of the channel, said parallel portion :being of a width substantially equal to "the width of the folded tape as received from the folder, a bridge-piece spanning the parallel portion of said channel, a tfin depending from said bridge-piece, said fin being parallel with the line of feed and a separator-blade carried by said fin and being arranged in spacedparallel relation 'with said "bridge piece and the bottom wall and sidewalls *of said channel.

3. In .a sewing machine having a bed-plate, stitching mechanism defining a point of stitch formation, feeding mechanism :for feeding 'work past the point of stitch formation along a line of feed, a throat-plate carried by said bed-plate at the point of stitch formation, and

work-folding and guiding means comprising a folder for hemming the edge of a work-piece and presenting the hemmed edge of the stitching mechanism with the hemmed edge adjacent the point of stitch formation, a tape folder for infolding the edges of a tape, and a tape guiding means for receiving the tape from the tape folder and presenting the samento the stitching mechanism with one of the fold-edges adjacent thehemmed edge of "the workpiece and the other fold-edge positioned inwardly of the work-piece .from said hemmed edge, said tapeguiding means controlling the passage .of the tape ,from the tape folder to the point of stitch formation and releasing the tape immediately in front of :the same, said tape-guiding means comprising a channel formed in the throat-plate andfihav-ing a bottom \vva ll and side walls, said side walls of the channel having a parallel portion, the parallel portion being in the line of feed and comprising the discharge end of the channel, said .tparallel portion being of a width substantially equal to the-:width of the folded tape asreceived from; saidfoldenaibridgepiece spanning the parallel portion :of said channel, it! fin depending from said bridge-piece, said fin.sheing parallel with the line .of feed, :and a separator-blade carried by said fin and being rar-rangedflin :spacedparallel relation with said bridge-piece and the bottom andside walls of said channel, the end of said separator-blade adjacent the discharge end of said channel having, diverging side-edges which clivergerto a distance substantially equal to the widthtof said tape;as:it is to-be presented to the stitching mechanism.

4. In a sewing machine havinga bed-plate, feeding mechanism for feeding work across said bed-plate along a line of feed, stitching mechanism includinga pair .of spaced needles arranged transversely of the line nfifeed and defining a pair of :points of stitch formation, a.

throat-plate carried bv said bed-plate at the points "of stitch formation, and work folding and tguidingnreans comprising a folder EfOI :hemming the edge of a workpiece and presenting the hemmed edge to the stitching mechanism with the hem-med edge adjacent one point of stitch formation and the other point of stitch tfiormation inwardly .of the workpiece from the hemmcdedge and inwardly of the ,raw zedgeof the workepiecdra atape folder for infolding the edges of a tape, and ,a tape guiding means for receiving the tape from the folder and presenting the same to the stitching mechanism with one of the fold-edgesadjacent the hemmed edge of .the work-piece and the respective ,point ,of stitch formation and the other fold-edge adjacent the opposite point of stitch formation, said tape guiding means controlling the passage of the tape from the tape folder :to the :points of stitch formation and releasing the tape immediately in front -of the same, said tape guiding means. comprising a channel formed in the throat-plate :and having ;a bottom wall and sidewalls, said side Walls of thexchannel having a converging portion and [a parallel portion, the parallel portion being in the line of feed and compr ising the discharge end of the channel, said parallel portion being of a width substantially equal :to;the width of the folded tape as received from said =folder, va bridgepiece spanning the parallel portion of said channel, :a fin depending from :said v bridge piece, :said ibein'g parallel with the line of feed, anda .separatorblade carried by said fin and :being .arrangedgin spaced aparallel relation with said '-bridge-piece :and :the bottom and side walls of said channel, the end of said separator-blade adjacent the discharge end of said channel having diverging side-edges which diverge :3 distance substantially equal to the width ofsaid tape as:-it is to be presented to the stitching mechanism.

,Hinderer Apr. .13, 1915 

